The Angels are supposedly interested in 40 year old Joey Votto.
The Twins claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson from the Yankees. The Yankees outrighted both Jeter Downs and Oscar Gonzalez. The Yankees could change their road uniforms next year if anybody cares.
Trey Mancini got a minor league deal with the Marlins. He’s invited to spring training.
LOL! Dodgers spending is good for baseball. Fine Heyman. Let the Dodgers buy up all the remaining free agents. The other 29 teams can just relegate themselves to another league.
Rhys Hoskins got himself a pretty good deal with the Brewers.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
https://twitter.com/beyondthehalo/status/1750684341095813613
Well if we are not going to sign Bellinger and we’re not going to sign Votto, this guy would have been a viable and fairly cheap option for a LHB, but not anymore.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/diamondbacks-joc-pederson-very-close-to-agreement.html
They are more into Duvall that Joc Peterson for whatever reason .
https://twitter.com/TXRangersPR/status/1750624594208182642
Good luck to Walsh, even if it’s with Tejas.
I always liked Walsh-No one can say the Halos gave up on him quickly.
Oft topic, but who do we think bats leadoff to start the season?
Neto? Schanuel? Rengifo? Dare I bring up Trout?
Neto – and Captain Ron has him at 2b before there’s an out
depends if we do anything else but I’d bet on Schanuel or Rengifo.
Neto if he has a good spring (reminds me of Ian Kinsler)
Kinsler is an interesting comp. I like it.
Man Neto really needs to hit the ball if he comes anywhere close to Kinsler.
Of the 3 young guys there’s a lot of hype surrounding Neto but after the league saw him his bat he tailed off. That BB% is very low and his K% is going to get very high. I hope Neto stays on his bat.
he’s had under 300 at bats. He’ll be fine
Rengifo-Trout-Drury-O’Hoppe should be the clear 1-4.
Drury and O’Hoppe are interchangeable.
You forgot about Rendone, Votto and Bellinger
Trout-Sano will be the new Trout-Ohtani
Lets goooooo
I’ll have what he’s having
How strong do you feel about that prediction on a 1-5 scale?
Or are you trying to get a rise of some the high strung dudes here? Hahaha
You and I both know the answer to that, come on haha.
It the were to sigb Bellinger, he would leadoff…..
This ain’t too shabby:
Bellinger
Trout
Drury
O’Hoppe
Hhhmmmm…..
Rengifo had a STRONG late Sprint & Summer.
I’ll reserve my argument for Trout at leadoff as see how everyone looks during Spring.
Schanuel is going to hit near the top of the order
Lineup is closer to the following:
Schanuel
Neto
Trout
Rendon
Drury
O’Hoppe
Ward
Rengifo
Moniak
IF some of those guys don’t start out ice cold (or hurt) that’s not too shitty a line up. If magic happens and Adell or Sano break good? It’s not the worst “rebuild” year line up at all.
Should be Schanuel because of his ability to get on base. Other qualities are nice but getting on base is the single most important role of the 1st two hitters. Ward could do it if he regains his ability to get on base. Neto needs to prove he can get on base and so does Rengifo. If Ron leads off Neto or Rengifo, he learned nothing from his time with the A’s.
Don’t know where he will be but the plumber had a .380 OBA in 62 ABs last year in the majors.
He’ll be in SLC unless there’s injuries to Rengifo, Drury and Neto
I think the Plummer has a near zero chance of making the opening day.
I kind of like Schanuel in the 2-hole because he doesn’t strike out much and puts the ball in play. He can also walks or move the leadoff dude to 3rd on a single.
I see all of your points re: Schanuel at leadoff, but doesn’t have enough speed
for me liking.
I suspect that Neto will get first crack for this reason.
This will be, as usual, one of the more interesting questions that needs to be answered.
Putting Schanuel at leadoff would be unique since it’s pretty rare for a team to do that since typically, your first baseman is a masher and hits either third or fourth in the lineup.
Agreed though, I think he should bat second. I remember during the draft, I compared him to James Loney while others compared him to Casey Kotchman, both are good comparisons.
Would it be like having your 35+ year old DH leading off Like Brian Downing used to for the Halos in the late 80’s?
Votto? Another past-his-expiration-date veteran? No thanks. Although the team could change its name to The Los Angeles Convalescent Angels of Anaheim.
I see your point, but this is where were at FA wise for this season.
Relatively low risk investments on players that MIGHT be productive.
I imagine they also think their young 1B can learn a thing or two from the old guy.
Definitely.
Joey Votto is a nice man and a future HOFer but he should be playing slow pitch softball now. The fact that the club has an interest in him being on the 25 man roster is quite a comment about where this organization is at right now. 5 years ago this would make sense. Miguel Sano might turn out to be a good pick up. They just refuse to admit that they don’t really have an everyday 3B.
I agree. We can’t go into the year without a ray 3B on the roster who can take over when Rendon goes out. It reminds me of SS last year. And we don’t have anyone like Neto sitting at Triple who could arguably step in. Minasian needs to fix this.
Yeah they needed to trade the guys they threw away for Giolito for a young 3B.
I guess Minasian looks at Hunter Dozier as the backup.
Brandon Drury is most likely the guy they will put at 3B when Rendon isn’t playing.
How about if the active roster is 26? does that change your opinion?
Yes, you might be able to use that extra spot.
.222/.386/.511 – Votto’s slash line v. LHP in 2023.
.217/.3279/.261 – Schanuel’s slash line v. LHP in 2023.
Votto’s not the guy he used to be, but he still makes a ton of sense as a platoon option v LHP at 1B. He’d also be a good mentor for Schanuel.
That said, I’m not sure he’s the right move for the Angels, because Sano can also fill a platoon role v LHP at 1B (.243/.331/.472 career) while still hitting RHP well enough (.231/.324/.486 career) that he can step in full time at 1B if necessary or maybe relieve Rendon at 3B.
Of course, Sano isn’t guaranteed to be healthy or good, so it would be nice to have them both heading into spring.
Sano es muy muy malo en Tercero Base
Did not realize Schanuel had such a large platoon differential.
That’s a really small sample vs lefties. 29 plate appearances . If he singled his next AB his avg would go from .217 to .250. His OBA would be .400. Another hit and he’d be at .280. That’s too volatile to form a judgment
That’s true. In fact, Schanuel’s entire career is to small to form a judgment, but that’s another reason why Schanuel needs a quality backup. One that can platoon v LHP and will only step in against RHP if Schanuel fails seems like a good idea.
Isn’t Drury the backup at 1B (with Rengifo/Soto/Paris backing up at 2B)?
14 HRs in 200ish PAs in 2023, not completely washed up bro.
I agree. 1st ballot HoF for me but two seasons around .220 is not a player anymore. As a coach… Definitely. He’s one of the greatest of the last 20 years and a really great guy. I loved it when he tugged on the shirt of the fan who got in the way.
The gamble is that Votto has bat to ball skillz. I mean, the guy literally went most of a season without a pop fly. He had a screwed up shoulder for most of 2 years. So he MAY actually be more than a .220 hitter still if his shoulder is good and he can put a little muscle into more of his contact. That’s the dice a team has to roll with him. But his hand/eye and swing are still really good.
Votto’s career stats are impressive – particularly the 11 year stretch from 2008 – 2019. Wowza:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vottojo01.shtml
Votto would be competing for the same roster spot as Miguel Sano. Basically a two men enter, one man leaves battle during camp.
Yet Votto bats Left handed and by all accounts a phenomenal human being so he has to have the early advantage. Sano signed a minor league deal with the Angels but I’m sure there’s an opt out at some point in the season.
It is worth noting that Votto’s last 2 years he has Grandpaesque OPS+ of 93 while Sano is 10 years younger but has had only 71 Major League plate appearances that last 2 years.
Nothing lost by bringing ‘Joey’ in for a Spring Training NRI.
If they both rake. you can trade one of them quickly.
I agree. IF Votto wants to be here, it’d be stupid not to give him a look. Votto has proven himself at the major league level. Sano, has not and is a “hope he finally figures it out” option.
But since we do “stupid” so very effectively…….
Sano isn’t proven ?
Not the last 2 years.
And Votto is?
Better than Sano . Sano didnt play Major League Baseball last year and only played in 20 major league games the year before.
……nobody has bashed Rendon yet today, and it’s almost noon.
Free the Evil from Rendon
Free Rendon from the Evil
Thanks Twebs you have definitely helped us avoid severe Rendone withdrawals today.
While it would appear the Angels have undertaken a full fledged Rendone rehabilitation mission.
https://twitter.com/BeyondTheHalo/status/1750569762323861766
So you’re telling me that O’Hoppe is being coached to be an angry malcontent that seeks to fight obnoxious fans?
The existence of this movie further verifies the decline of western civilization and the movie industry.
What’s next, Gumby and Pokey, Adventure Time?……ok, Adventure Time would be kinda cool…..never mind….
Gumby & Pokey…: with a “message” of course.
Gumby takes on corporate America as Pokey plays unwittingly into the deplorable evils of capitalism, I think we’re on to something here BiL!
Let’s meet and start writing this-Have your people ignore my people.
We’ll meet at ‘Perch’ in DTLA and look past each whilst speaking all the while pretending to be socially virtuous.
To go further, the existence of that movie, being nominated for academy awards tells me that the earth is on track to implode, and I live in hell!
Well, we already had the Smurf movie. And Superheros from comic books. So KISS, the movie???
Did you see Barbie?
But…..he hates baseball…
Why?
Is he secretly teaching him hate?
Or is this just propaganda to help aid in evil Tony’s
PR rehabilitation to counter Sammy the Hat and make CTPG folk forget Tony’s evil ways?
I want to see Rendon hit .400 next year and beat a fans ass…. hopefully someone from off this site. Then we’ll know he’s healthy.
To be fair to Tony No Bags, he said in an interview years ago that he doesn’t watch baseball if he’s not playing it. Something about he likes playing it but isn’t a fan who will watch it.
I kind of get it. I like playing tennis but rarely watch it. I hate playing baseball but watch it all the time.
And I never watch TV shows about real estate or finance because I do that all day.
UNPOSSIBLE! Anthony Rendon has never been any good and would just fling a wine glass of warm piss at any young player who asked him for help because he so evil he no care and fake injuries all day!
Miguel Sano has a career 116 OPS+ in 2,859 PAs.
2015 = 149 OPS+ (335 PAs)
2016 = 108 OPS+ (495 PAs)
2017 = 126 OPS+ (483 PAs)
2018 = 83 OPS+ (299 PAs)
2019 = 139 OPS+ (439 PAs)
2020 = 105 OPS+ (205 PAs)
2021 = 112 OPS+ (532 PAs)
2022 = 2 OPS+ (71 PAs wtf lol)
Sano is seemingly in incredible shape and killing it in Winter Ball. This dude has a track record of being a consistently good MLB hitter and can fill in at DH/1B (idk if he can play 3B anymore).
Please don’t be surprised when he’s our opening day DH. Under the radar move by Perry that has the chance to pay big dividends. FYI, Sano has a June 1st opt-out if he isn’t on the big league club.
Shrewd signing.
Yes, a shrew sighting.
Quick, someone tame it!
Billy Shakespeare wrote about that.
It looks like a mini-elephant !!!
We will Tame some shrews
Holly crap. I just looked at recent Miguel Sano. That guy stepped away from the KFC a bit and is crushing some baseballs like it’s ten years ago. Sure, it’s in a Kenny Powers league, but still… if he can hit MLB pitching at all he’ll semi-Soler.
So long as he brings the little midget from Mexico with him…
He died
Okay, we can trade Adell for Mookie Betts, I’ll allow it.
LOL
Betts is a baller. That little dude can really drive the ball. Impressive.
I was at the game that Betts went yard thrice against the Halos, once or twice against Ohtani, who exited (I believe before final dinger) with a blister/finger nail issue.
He is baller and Halo fans will give Betts the credit that seldom Dodger fans ever paid to Trout.
Not surprising since doyer fans consist of fat, drunk cholos and insufferable Silver Lake hipsters with corporate seat hook ups.
Tell us how you really feel 😀
I lived a few miles from Chaves Ravine for almost 30 years. I know this crowd well. Haha
You forgot the unwashed homeless…..er…displaced……er unhoused….in the North LA river basin.
Hahaha, how could I forget. i
Back to your point. I was still in LA during Trout’s absolute prime years (Rookie thru 2018) and most doyer fans would try to ignore Trouts because they had no near pear pre-Betts.
Now that Trout is on the backend, they suddenly have much more to say. Human nature I guess.
*no near peer.
Dodgers may have won the winter ❄️ and are feeling jolly about it, but reminder
NL Pennant is flying in Phoenix. They’re chokers.
On paper the Dodgers are so much better than every other team lmao.
Would be absolutely shocked to see them win less than 2-3 WS 💍 for the rest of this decade.
They had the most talented roster for ever….no ring.
So now they have the better’est roster……
I’m betting still no ring in 2024.
Chokers.
Yep, playoffs have a lot of “momentum” and stuff involved, not necessarily the “best team” wins.
Before throwing too much shade at the Dodgers maybe we should remember the 2014 Angels.
Which would you prefer, the Angels male the playoffs, but don’t win the Series OR the Angels don’t make the playoffs, but the doyers choke?
The first. Anything that involves the Halos making the playoffs is a positive
This^^^^^^
I’ll take getting close to making it😀
Yup.
At least we would witness some exciting baseball during the dog days.
The Halos have way more winter championships than the Dodgers.
this century?
CJ Wilson and Pujols! We won that one fo shizzle.
oh…haha, yes we do!
Escobar | Colón | Guerrero | Guillén
the winter after 2003 season was pretty good
Votto makes sense to me purely as a locker room presence for Neto/O’Hoppe/Schanuel. Not sure he’d be interested in starting over with a new franchise on his way out though.
I think the Reds owe him one more season, though he’d have to accept a lower amount of remuneration.
Hes a 40 year old free agent. The Reds have already said they are not interested in his return. But Votto is adamant that he wants to continue to play. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/reds-rumors-wont-resign-joey-votto-nick-krall.html
I would think we could get him on a one year deal on the fairly cheap.
The direct answer from the Reds GM re: Votto was blunt yet refreshing.
I understand, but still despise “coach speak” in sports.
Most athletes. coaches, managers, etc. spew words whilst saying nothing – much like politicians. That’s probably why forums like this are more fun & informative.
The Red’s would totally bring him back but they have literally zero ABs to give him.
I think he’d be great as a line-up presence too, to hit behind Mike.
Who is the one pencilled in for that now, Rendon?
…in other words, no one really set to bat behind Trout yet….
Bring him in as a bench coach, additional hitting instructor.
This!
No. Bring him in as a facilities manager…. which is another job he has said he doesn’t want this season.
I’ve thought Votto would be interesting for a while. Could help groom Schanuel and be there if he struggles. Would be a great dugout presence. Yes he’s slipped, But he had 14 jacks in 200 AB’s last year. I’m biased, as I just like the guy and his approach. Will he help us? Maybe. Having Moose seemed really good for the clubhouse and dugout last year. He might be a good replacement in that capacity.
Yes, as essentially a player-coach-mentor he could be useful.
That said, his positional flexibility off the bench is quite limited. He is 1B/DH at best, and we really need someone to backup 3B and in OF in our four spots on the bench. I guess he could take Cabbage’s spot (to go along with Thaiss, Rengifo and Adell) but I think Turner and Urshela are better fits.
(FA 3B is really thin out there after those two – Moose, Longoria, Escobar, Duffy?).
I actually agree on Turner and Urshela, but I would still get this move. Urshela played so well last year and it killed us when he went down. Will he be the same? Probably not. Sure liked watching him play though. He totally shocked me. And Turner can just flat out swing the bat.
There are actually 2 spots available on the bench. (Thaiss and Adell hold the others as Im putting Rengifo at second and Drury at DH) ) If Votto took one of the bench spots we could still sign a guy like Gio. He could backup third, first (Or Rendon could play there against LHP’s) even short like he did somewhat adequately last year. Right now our backup to Neto on the 26 man is Luis Rengifo. Now this would also mean Rengifo would have to be our 5th outfielder behind Adell but that could work.
Sano will make the team
🧠🧠🧠🔮🔮🔮
That was the problem last year. Urshella was backing up too many positions and when a a couple of people went down, he could only play one of the positions. Rengifo is in the same spot this year backing up almost everyone. They definitely need those last two bench players. Sano could definitely be one of them. Like many here I think Turner would be a good short term solution for one of them as well.
LOL @ “…groom”
Am I a bad person for thinking, “Isn’t that why Franco’s in trouble?”
C’mon children. Y’all sounding like Beavis and Butthead. “Huh,huh, he said groom.” LOL